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Glenn Beck in Jerusalem, should I even care?

Should I care? I don’t think so. The idea that Glenn Beck was invited to hold a rally to restore what he calls “Courage” in Jerusalem is crazy and enough to prove, again, that the current Israeli government isn’t ashamed anymore from revealing its true far-rightest, racist, and extremist nature.

Glenn Beck

I was first introduced to Glenn Beck on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a show that I respect and always enjoy watching. To me, Beck was never anything but a scaremongering joke, something I can laugh at when I am in a bad mood.

Beck’s islamophobic, xenophobic, and homophobic nature is on top of his head, even FOX news dropped his TV show as he was “too crazy for FOX” as some people have put it. Although Beck’s TV show had one of the highest cable TV ratings in the United States and although he was selected in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people, he is considered a mad man and a joke by the majority of sane Americans.

A small sample I want to mention of what Beck is like, in his latest video podcast on Israel-Palestine, Beck attacked #j14 movement and demonized those participating in it, but this isn’t where the video ends; here is a transcript of the video’s two final minutes:

“Beck: Jeffy, you remember the first time we went to Israel about 10 years ago, wasn’t that fun, remember those Friday nights when they (Muslims) get out of a mosque and it was so great because they were so moved by the spirit and they were so full of love and joy and then they would go to right there to the wall and they drop giant stones on the heads of the jews who were praying underneath. Jeffy: I thought it was part of the celebration, so beautiful. Beck: yes, so beautiful”

The Rally

Guess where the rally took place?

Yes, right below the Muslim sanctuary, Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Beck’s Jerusalem rally location has changed to where it is now because, as Beck explained in this video, “He feared for the safety of his audience from 40,000 evil Muslims who would throw big rocks.”

Glenn Beck’s rally in Jerusalem is not my business; it is the business of those Israelis who refuse that their own government embraces a mad hateful anti-Semite like Glenn Beck. A majority of the supporters at today’s rally in Jerusalem were Christian Zionists, and the rest were Jewish extremist settlers; no in-betweeners.

Israeli zionist movements like Peace Now held their own demonstration outside the walls of Jerusalem against Glenn Beck’s rally.

Meanwhile, many other activists and Solidarity members held their own protests there too. There were strong verbal confrontations between supporters of Beck and those who oppose him. I recorded one of the many verbal confrontations:

I also managed to capture this bit of footage of The Real News Network’s reporter interviewing Israelis at “Restoring Courage” Rally, some replies were simply disgusting:

There were a lot of Israelis who tried to attack the protestors, I saw little kids screaming in anger against the protesters and calling them “anti-Israel” and “self hating Jews.” Passersby kept screaming “shame on you” as the anti-Glenn Beck protesters kept on chanting “Glenn Beck, Go home.”

Today was weird. I didn’t get the chance to enter the “Restoring Courage” rally, but what I witnessed outside was itself quiet an experience.